February 02, 2012

Fitting Into Your Wedding Dress: 4 Tips To Help You Get In Great Shape For Your Wedding Day

As a personal trainer, one of the most rewarding and fun experiences for me has been helping clients prepare for their wedding day. Without exception, the clients I have trained who are preparing for their weddings have been some of the most motivated and disciplined clients I have ever worked with. Although the title of this article is geared toward women, the tips mentioned in this article could equally be applied to men and women. Having trained both men and women preparing for their wedding day, I am excited to convey some great tips for getting in shape for one of the most memorable days of your life.

Tip Number 1: Start Early

Over the years, I have been a personal trainer to numerous people getting ready for their weddings. Some of these people have planned ahead and had months to get in shape. On the other hand I have had clients who only had a few weeks. It’s going to be very stressful on you if you’re trying to lose excess weight and get in shape with only a few weeks left before your wedding. In addition, you will likely have higher stress levels related to other aspects of your wedding in the weeks right before the big day. Give yourself a break and start with plenty of time in advance. That way, you can concern yourself with other aspects of your wedding rather than trying to lose that last fifteen pounds or so with only a few days remaining.

Tip Number 2: Major On The Majors

What I mean when I say “major on the majors” is that when it comes to a persons wedding day, they typically have an idea of how they want things to play out. Just like a person has an idea of how they want the flowers to look, how they want the dinner to be, and what kind of music they want played, most people have an idea of what they want to look like on their special day. Take a moment to envision what you would like to look like in your wedding photos, as well as standing up in front of everyone at the ceremony and reception.

Now that you’ve taken some time to think about what you want to look like, it’s time to start narrowing things down a bit. Today many bridal dresses tend to show a lot of the shoulders, as well as the arms. In fact many of the popular dresses being worn at weddings today do not cover the shoulders or arms at all. Having bingo wings on your wedding day is probably not something you’re hoping for. With this in mind, some resistance training that focuses on the triceps and biceps of the arms may be a great idea. Additionally, incorporating some shoulder work into your routine can help to create a nice defined look where the shoulder, side of the shoulder, and back of the arm tie in together. By majoring on the areas that are going to be exposed to the camera and to others, you can help ensure that those areas look great.

A Quick Word About Spot Training

Many people falsely believe that if they weight-lift in a particular area, that they will lose excess fat in that area. This belief is known as spot training and it is false. Losing fat requires additional practices to be employed, as we will explore next in this article.

Tip Number 3: Losing Weight For The Big Day

If you need to lose a few extra pounds or more for your special day, there are two important ways to go about it. Whether your goals are dramatic weight loss or simply to lose a few extra pounds, the principals are the same. The only thing that need vary based on your goals is the extent to which you employ the principles. Having said that, let’s take a look at these two methods of creating weight loss.

Aerobic Exercise

Aerobic exercise is quite simply exercise that gets you moving for an extended period of time. Aerobic exercise increases the heart rate and rate of breathing. One of its main sources of energy is fat. As such, it’s a necessary component for those looking to lose weight. One pound of fat is equal to thirty five hundred calories. That can translate into a lot of time on a treadmill or elliptical machine. Keep the thirty five hundred calorie number in mind, but try to take the approach of doing reasonable periods of aerobic activity; perhaps thirty minutes to an hour at a time. Additionally, it’s often helpful for people to focus more on the amount of calories burned than actual time on an aerobic machine. Make sure to put your personal information into whatever cardio machine you are using before using it. It will ask you for your age and weight. The machine combines that information with something called a MET to calculate with relative accuracy the amount of calories you are burning. Machines typically keep the information updated by the second so you can see your continual progress. Finally, if you have a lot of weight you are looking to lose, think in terms of cutting down a tree with an axe. You wouldn’t try to cut down a tree with one strike of the axe or even a few. It would take many hits before the tree would come down, but eventually it would come down.

Dietary Considerations

When it comes to losing weight, a person’s daily food intake is imperative to factor in. It’s helpful to know how many calories a day your body requires in order to maintain your current weight. There are a few ways to do this. There are online calculators that will estimate this based on your age, sex, and weight. There are also some machines that will estimate this for you. One simple way to calculate how many calories a day your body currently requires involves no machinery and costs nothing. This method simply requires that you are currently maintaining the same bodyweight. In other words, in order for this method to work, you should be eating normally and not gaining or losing weight. To calculate the number of calories your body is currently expending, simply add up all of the calories from food and drink you consume on a daily basis. It’s helpful to do this for several days or so, rather than just one day. It can take a bit of time and be a bit of a pain, especially for foods that are cooked and prepared rather than prepackaged foods. This is important to do however because once you know how many calories you are taking in on a daily basis, assuming you are not gaining or losing any weight, this is how many calories your body needs everyday. Knowing this, you can start to create a caloric deficit through diet, which is the second major way (next to aerobic training) to lose weight.

Creating a caloric deficit through diet simply means that after you have calculated how many calories your body needs on a daily basis, a person takes in less than that. For example, let’s say that a person has calculated using the method explained above that everyday their body requires sixteen hundred calories. All things being equal, if that person reduces their daily caloric intake to say thirteen hundred calories, then that person will start to initiate immediate weight loss. There are many diets and eating programs that focus on carbohydrates, protein, and fat. There is definitely significance to focusing on these three important factors. Focusing in on calories however is a very quick and easy way however to start bringing about immediate weight loss.

Putting The Two Weight Loss Methods Together

So now that we have our two main methods for losing weight in preparation for the big day, we can combine those two ideas to get an even bigger effect. For example, let’s say we have a woman who wants to lose thirty pounds for her wedding. After estimating her daily caloric needs and her timeframe, she estimates she can reasonably lower her daily caloric intake by two hundred and fifty calories. Furthermore, she believes she can average two hundred and fifty calories a day of caloric expenditure on average doing aerobic activity. She is therefore creating a caloric deficit of about five hundred calories a day on average through diet and exercise. Remember, one pound of fat is equal to thirty five hundred calories. Therefore, this woman will lose about one pound of actual fat a week. In reality, she will likely lose more weight than this. The reason for this is because as people lower their caloric intake, they consequently lower their carbohydrate, fat, and protein intake as well, generally speaking. Lowering carbohydrate intake will help to initiate some immediate weight loss in terms of water weight. Many people who go on low carbohydrate diets see weight loss of a few pounds or more in their first week or two based on this principle.

Tip 4: Develop A Wedding Day Timeline For Getting In Shape

Now that you know the methods for getting in shape for your special day, it can be helpful to come up with a timeline to work with. For example, if someone were three months out from their wedding, and they wanted to lose about twenty five pounds before the actual wedding day, then they know they need lose on average eight pounds or so a month. This can be further broken down into weeks, whereby the person would then know that they need to lose about two pounds a week. Combining the principals indicated in this article, the person can achieve that goal in a methodical manner, preventing any last minute panic about not looking the best for their wedding day.

Time To Get Started

If you have a wedding coming up in the future, it’s best to get started early. By starting early, you will avoid any added stress right before your wedding. You will have achieved your goals with time to spare. You will look and feel great as you walk down the aisle and as you stand in front of those most important to you. Your wedding pictures will last a long time. Plan your fitness and diet work, and work your fitness and diet plan. Also consider working with a good certified personal trainer. A great trainer can help you meet specific goals and show you the most effective and safe ways to get there. If you are having trouble losing weight, you may want to consider working with a licensed dietician. Finally, always check with your doctor before beginning any new exercise or eating program. He or she may have certain restrictions for you based on personal injuries, past surgeries, ailments, and/or medications you are on, in addition to other factors. I hope you have a great wedding day and enjoy the process of getting in great shape for it!